Sophomore year is most definitely the middle child of grade levels, and by that I mean frequently forgotten or underappreciated. Freshman year is exciting because you are brand new, in a new place and finally have the freedom you have been looking forward to since freshman year of high school. Junior year is equally exciting because you are finally considered an upperclassman and you have many newfound perks such as class rings and ring dance. Senior year is by far the most exciting because you finally rule the school and are almost done with your time during undergrad (that is, if you don't take a victory lap).
But what about sophomore year? It's simply forgotten along with middle children and 19th birthdays. All three of these things are underappreciated!
Although I can't speak from experience of being a middle child, I have heard many middle children complain about being forgotten in the crowd. Same thing happens with sophomore year, and people miss out on its greatness.
Sophomore year needs acknowledgement for so many reasons. You get to come back to school, and it is still socially acceptable to have no idea what your plans are for after college (let's be real, do you ever REALLY know what your plans after college are?).
You also get to come back to either living in an off campus apartment for the first time, or all of your friends are living off campus. Living in an off campus apartment is completely different than living in an on campus dorm. For the first time in your life, you are officially alone and have no one to report to. Sure, you might have a roommate, but you no longer have an RA that checks in on you because you are playing your music loud. Of course, now you have to worry about the police knocking on your door if your music is too loud.
Because you are a sophomore, you now have some semblance of seniority over the freshman and hopefully will get better football seating and end up in North End Zone.
As a sophomore, you learned the ropes last year with picking classes and scheduling your day out perfectly. Now you know that you shouldn't schedule a class in McBryde and expect to get to Litton Reeves in 15 minutes. Let me tell you, it's not possible. Instead, as a sophomore, you are much smarter and give yourself 15 minutes to get from Torg to McBryde — much more plausible.
Clearly, sophomore year has many more perks than you would think at first glance. Hopefully you are excited for your sophomore year and will allow it to happen in all its glory.
Good luck in your studies this year, and go class of 2019!
